Happy Halloween!

Top pic: My cute carved pumpkins. The "candles" were on, but you can't tell. I have these fake candles. They look like tea lights. They have a little switch to turn on and they even flicker like a candle and they are totally safe. Love them. The second pic is from our "backyard" (we really have a parking slab). When I took the pic I could smell someone's fireplace going. I love that smell and feel of fall. I wish we had a fireplace.

I got lots of candy for the kiddies. Have my skeleton hanging and my lights up and my pumpkins carved.

My friend Alex is coming over to hang out and help give out candy. Should be a fun night.

So apparently there was a good-sized earthquake last night. Curt asked me if I felt it. He wasn't home at the time. This morning they were talking about it on the radio. It happened at 8:04 p.m. And I think that was when I was drying my hair. And now I remember then I was wondering if we had just had an earthquake. Too weird.

Ugh! Must have coffee

So I slept like kerap last night. You are not gonna believe what I was dreaming about. Chapter 6 quiz! Maybe because I didn't do as well as I would have liked. My overall score of quizzes is still in the 90s.
And I didn't ace this latest quiz, but I also didn't bomb it. But I would still like to take it over again. I was gonna do a do over tonight. But I decided screw that! Because I want to read the chapter over first ... and I really don't want to do that tonight. Curt and I have plans to meet a couple of friends for drinks. And I don't HAVE to go. But I am doing well with my timeline for chapters so I say, Let's drink!
So, no studying again until the weekend. I have plans Friday night. But Saturday and Sunday are pretty much open--except for the closet I have to tackle.
Man, I am wiped out.

Oh, I carved my pumpkins last night. I bought two in case Curt wanted to carve one. Anyway, nothing fancy--but I think they look good. Will post a pic later. I also toasted the seeds last night. Yummy. Man, I actually did a lot of stuff last night. Didn't get everything done on my to do list. I hope to finish it tonight before we head to Barclay's for drinks tonight.

I just had my flu shot at work. When the nurse stuck in the needle she asked me if I worked out. She told me when she sticks in the needle she can usually tell if someone works out. She said I have good muscle tone. All that hard work is paying off!

The streak is over

Read Chapter 5 yesterday. That took a long time. Then I took the quiz. (Oh, and I took a nap before studying. It was a must. Then I made some coffee and used the cool coffee thermos that Gail gave me for my b-day.) Anyway, normally the quizzes have 10-12 questions. Chapter 5 quiz had 30. Oy vey!
It was definitely a tough quiz. But I worked my way through it. I wasn't sure how I would score. There were a few questions I was unsure of. I got a 93% (gone are the 100% days). I got 2 wrong. And one of them I am sure, so sure that I was right. The other one I am a little weary of. I still think I was right. I am going to ask my boss about it.
The quizzes don't count. Just the final grade. But if I am right I want it on record. I may have to contact someone about it!
I print out all of my quizzes for reference later.

Lovely Sunday

Read Chapter 4 this morning and aced yet another quiz.
I started reading 5 and will continue it now.
Just got back a little while ago from a brunch for my friend Toni's birthday. It was a surprise. The restaurant we went to was called Hs'Lordships. They had an amazing buffet. And free-flowing mimosas and champagne. It was great to hang out with friends and new people. (I think whoever comes to visit next will be taken there. So that might be my cousin Alex.)
Once I got home this afternoon I started some laundry and straightened up the house a little bit. Now I am gonna continue with Chapter 5.
Oh, the the weather is absolutely gorgeous. And at the restaurant we had an amazing view of the bay. It was really pretty.
OK, no more procrastinating ... though I wouldn't mind taking a nap ... back to studying.

Unpleasant shopping experience

I got a lot of errands done today.
First thing this morning went to the grocery, then came home, put stuff away, had some breakfast and watch ER on the DVR. Then off to the gym with my new heart rate monitor. (I must read more on it. Everytime I asked it for my heartrate it would give it and then keep beeping saying it was too high. It wasn't too high.) After the gym I hit Michaels and then Home Depot. Home Depot is where I had my unpleasant experience. Well, backtrack a little. While standing in line at Michaels I realize that I had 60 bucks in cash in my wallet and I only see $20. I seriously doubt someone broke into my locker at the gym and took $40 and left $20 and credit cards. So I am thinking I misplaced it, but where? (Believe me, I looked when I got home.) I usually don't throw money around--I am a little obsessed with it. So I get to HD already in a pissy mood and minus 40 bucks. At HD I need to get sandpaper, a door stopper and cat repellent for our garden. (The neighborhood cat uses it for a toilet and it is just gross. I have issues with cats just wandering around shitting in other people's yards. I personally think it is irresponsible. Joey has always been indoor only. OK, enough of that rant.) So I am in the garden section with all kinds of growth stuff and repellents for bugs and ants and insects. I finally ask someone and she sends me back to that aisle. I give up and venture to find a door stopper. I figure they have to be near the doors, right? I finally ask for help. They send me to an aisle and I just can't find them. So I try the repellent again. No luck. I am standing there and I ask an employee for help. He pretty much can't help me. Now I am really frustrated. So I wander to the self-checkout and ask the woman there. She sends me to an aisle for the doorstopper and tells me sandpaper is with paint. I end up back in the same aisle looking for doorstoppers where I was before. I patiently wait for an employee to help someone else. Then he and I search for them. And it took us a little time to find them. One item, FINALLY! Then I walk toward the paint. Before I even see paint on the sign I see sandpaper on the aisle sign. Sweet! I find my sandpaper and get the H out of there. (I guess a nursery or ordering online will have to suffice the repellent need.)
I come home, have lunch, watch some Queer Eye. Then time for another errand--PetsMart. Must take Joey to get his nails trimmed. I always dread this because he hates it. Curt grabs Joey and I grab the carrier and we stuff him in it. Then off we go. Joey did really well with having his nails trimmed. He is always happy when it is over and scrambles to get back into his carrier. On the way back in today he scrambled on me and left some nice nail marks on my stomach. Joey and I got food, litter, and litterbox bags and headed out.
Came home, did some studying--reread Chapter 3. And I was happy to see that Chapter 4 is short. But 5 is quite long.
I made spaghetti squash for dinner. Have you ever had this? It is the coolest thing. I baked in the oven for about 40 mins. (Next time I will do a little longer.) When you run your fork through the squash it comes out in spaghetti-like strands. So cool. It was pretty yummy. I just used regular spaghetti sauce. I need to make my pesto recipe and try it on the squash.
This evening I watch The Nativity Story. It was really good. I am just about done with a scarf for the person I am Secret Pal to. We have our revealing lunch on Friday. So she will get a scoa and a regular scarf. My SP left me a bag filled with delicious junk food and a gift card to Blockbuster. And it was actually for Curt and me. How nice!
OK, I am tired and am gonna jump in bed.

4 years and a day later

Today has been crazy busy. This is the first chance I have had to get to my blog.

Anyway, I actually left work yesterday at 4:55 p.m. Before Curt and I went to dinner we exchanged gifts. I got a Tootsies gift certificate. Woo-hoo! I can use it toward shoes or a pedi. I have been wanting some Uggs. I will have to decide.
I got Curt a new big mug for weekend coffee. I broke the one he was using a couple of months ago. Inside the mug was a Starbucks's gift card. The gift I was really excited about was a T-shirt about the football game between Mizzou and the hated (Dumb Big Red) Nebraska. Curt was happy because they actually aired the game here and Mizzou won. So when I found the shirt I just had to get it for him.

We had a really delicious dinner. We had shoestring fries for an appetizer. Curt had a yummy roasted chicken for dinner and I had gnocchi with eggplant and cantrelle mushrooms. Yum!

We went home and watched The Office, which was only a half hour long last night. What the H??? And then I passed out on the couch. Man, I was tired.

4 years later ...

Curt and I are still married. Hee hee. Just kidding. Today is our 4-year anniversary. It actually feels a lot longer. And we do joke about being married for 14 LONG years. We have been together for almost 8 years.
Anyway, dinner tonight at a restaurant in our neighborhood called Garabaldi's. We haven't been there yet. It seems a little fuu-fuu. We usually walk past it on our way to McNally's bar.
Our Moms have sent us cards. Thanks guys. Forgot to say we got them.
Oh, at our wedding we had a "marriage dance." All married couples out on the dance floor. Then the DJ would have those who have been married 4 hours or less get off the dance floor, 6 months, years, etc. He got stuck in the 30s. 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, etc. (Curt's parents celebrated their 40th--I think it was last year?) Anyway, the winners were my Aunt Alice and Uncle Eddie at 55 years. So now they have been married for almost 60 years. Crazy, huh? Afterward I went over to congratulate them. My aunt said, we hope you are married as long as we are. My response, I am already 29 I don't think we'll make it. Nice, huh?

The little bookworm that I am

I got through Chapter 3 last night in my course book. It was a tough one. It took me I think 2 1/2 hours to read it. Ugh! There was so much stuff in there. I finished the chapter, got my gym bag ready and my clothes set out to wear today. I was ready to jump in bed. And then I thought, let me try the quiz and see how I do. I can take the quizzes as many times as I want. It took me forever to do the quiz, but I got another 100% on my first try. I like to read the questions, go through the answers, and even if I know the answer 100% I still look in the chapter to find it and highlight it for review later. So that is time-consuming.
(OK, I just have to say that I love the auto save on Blogger now. Because I just accidentally closed my browser and everything was saved!!!!)
I got in bed a little after 11--about 5-10 mins later our electricity turns off. What the H? Then back on. Then off again. Crap. We looked outside and it was our street. I could see other flashlights flashing around people's homes. This is when I wish I would have those batteries as back up in my alarm clock. We have some in Curt's--but they are low. So I got the travel alarm clock out of the bathroom to set and Curt set his cell.
I already went to bed late, then we had that fun incident, then I slept like crap. Argh! Anyway, the electricity must not have been out for very long because my clock was flashing the time about 10 mins ahead--and you know when the clock resets it goes to midnight.

Oh, probably no studying until this weekend. And I do plan on reading Chapter 3 again. I like to read each chapter twice. And I will likely reread the whole course book before I take the final exam. Why didn't I study this well while in college?

As Curt would say:

I GOT SMARTS REAL GOOD.

Yesterday I went home from work early to crack down on my studying. I am taking my course through IPLegalED. It is self-paced. (Well, once you sign up you have 100 days to complete the course.) You download the course book and can read it on your computer or print it out. I printed out the first 2 chapters (there are 19 total) yesterday and read those. After each chapter is a quiz (that you must take online). Then at the end is a final exam, which you also have to take online. You can take the quizzes as many times as you like. I got 100% on my first two quizzes. Woo-hoo!
Today after work I will tackle Chapter 3.
When this is all done I will be a certified Patent Paralegal. Intellectual Property is my boss' speciality. We have a patent paralegal consultant who does work for Onyx. But once I am up and running I can take her duties over.

Go Rockies!

Damn, can you believe Cleveland lost it? I mean, they were up 3-1 and then gave up on the last 3 games! I didn't watch all of last night's game. But it was a game for some time. Then the Sox just blew past the Indians. Oh well. At least Baseball is happy--one big market in the World Series.

Going back to school

Well, kinda. Today I start my Patent Paralegal course. On Mondays I will leave work about 2:30 to go home and concentrate on my studies. (Of course I will make up my time the rest of the week.) I haven't studied in 10 years. And when I was in college I lived by myself most of the time. It will likely take me a few weeks to get into the swing of things. So wish me luck!

Like a good neighbor

Curt and I interacted with neighbors today Wow-wee! Our street had a block party today. I made a butternut squash curry salad for the event. It came out pretty good. People seemed to like it. I am always a little worried when I stray from my standards: chips and salsa, cheese enchiladas, etc. I am getting a little more experimental with cooking and recipes. I also made Curt macaroons. We saw a recipe on the back of a Saltines box one day. And I made them last night for him as part of his anniversary gift. He seems to really like them.
Anyway, the block party was nice. They had a jumping castle for the kids. I didn't jump or even attempt to. There was live music: and Irish band and then a jazz band. I prefered the jazz band. We met a few neighbors. We also met a couple who lives across the street from us who seem to be around our age. I knew there were a lot of kids around. But man, they are all over our street. (I wonder if I need to get more Halloween candy.) The food was really good. We just ate all sides and they were yummy.
Curt got back from Toronto last night. He actually ran into one of our friends from Oaktown. David is a new friend and part of our Tuesday Night Social Club. Anyway, Curt seemed to have a good time and went to some good sessions while there.

Pics of the jazz band. In the first pic you can see me way to the left chatting with our new friends. In the third pic you can see our beige duplex in the background.

It's Friday Night ...

So my big night is knitting, eating Flamin Hot Cheetos and drinking some wine I received as a birthday present from my boss and watching movies. We had my work birthday lunch today. Sushi!!!! Love it.
During the summer my high school friend Ilysha and her husband, Eric, were in town. Eric is a magician/comedian. He performed at a dinner theatre one weekend in the Bay Area. Curt and I met up with them and another high school friend Edwin and his girlfriend for dinner and entertainment.
Anyway, Eric was on Letterman last Friday. It is actually still on our DVR and I have shown it to a few friends. But it is now on YouTube. Watch it. It's fun. His name is Eric Buss. Look him up. I hope he comes back up here again. I would love to see him perform again.
Oh, and what you are about to watch he created in his and Ilysha's garage.

Gorgeous day

Ran some errands on my lunchbreak today. It was low 70s and sunny. So nice. The past few days have been gray, cool and rainy. It was nice to be outside. So many times I don't leave the building all day and have no idea if the weather is nice or not.

All of a sudden I am having a coughing attack. I wish this whatever I have would go away completely! Every few days I have a coughing attack. Argh!

Got some flowers from my Secret Pal yesterday or was it the day before? Either way, pretty red gerber daisies. And it is a plant--so hopefully I won't kill it. Which reminds me, I should water it. My Secret Pal has given me all Christmas stuff, up until the flowers. I have gotten wine glass charms, snowflake-shaped cookie cutters and cute little star candles (red, green and white). I took a pic of the flowers with my camera phone and never got the e-mailed pic. Something is up with my phone.

Good TV night tonight. Do you remember way back when Thursdays became a good TV night? Cosby Show, Family Ties. What else? I do have to say I have not been so into Grey's. It just isn't as good these days. And the whole Izzie/George storyline is annoying. Actually Izzie is starting to get on my nerves. And I pretty much can't stand Meredith. Still love Miranda.

My new nephew

My brother and his girlfriend, Jessica, just got a puppy named Sabu. Oh my, he is super cute.

Speaking of nephews, Jackson turns 5 today. Jackson was the inventor of the song: It's My Birthday. Not Really. Party Anyway. Today was also my grandpa's birthday. He would be 85 today. Wow! My grandpa died the day before his birthday, Oct. 16 1994.

Curt is in Toronto right now for an Online News Association conference. He said the city is beautiful. He arrived yesterday and will leave Saturday. So that means I get the honkin TV all to myself. :)

And I got the car back yesterday evening. Woo-hoo! Eventually I will have to take it in to get the scrapes taken care of.

Oh, I forgot to mention my friend Toni who attended the pedi party Friday night said her car was hit that night. I bet it was the drunk guy!!!!

Car update

I just called Volvo to see how the car is doing. I was told it should be ready about 3 p.m. It was having "software issues."
I am just happy I will have my car back!
And then I will have to take it in to get the scrape fixed. And there is actually another scrape that a stranger left one day. Thanks! So that will get taken care of then, too.

The car saga continues

Volvo finally called me back today. About 11 a.m. I was giving them until noon. Then no more Ms. Nice Ann. They recommended a tow place. I called and the woman said they could send someone out right away.
My friend and co-worker Alonzo drove me home to meet the guy. Thanks Alonzo!
Gale, tow guy, was there within 10-15 mins. To get to our car it is a pretty tight squeeze. He somehow got his truck back there and the car on the tow. But he had to wait for a second guy to bring a jack to steer the front tires. And Gale got the car into neutral--which we couldn't do or the other tow guy. The car was scraped a little--but Hustead's will have that fixed. That was the least of my worries. I was just happy to get the car out of there.
So Gale and I head to the Volvo dealership. Once the car is there the Volvo guys can start it. WTH!!??!! Even Gale was surprised by the fact that it started. Because he tried all sorts of things to get the car going. He thought maybe something was loose and all the movement did something to the car. Regardless they are checking it out. And I was going to take the car in tomorrow for an oil change. So I just asked them to do it today.
When I was waiting for the shuttle service a woman was picking up her car. She asked me if I was going to BART. I said, no Emeryville. She offered me a ride. She seemed nice enough. So I went with my gut instinct. She was really nice and we chatted. Thanks to the lady who was nice enough to offer me a ride back to work!
Now I wait to hear from them. Man, I am exhausted. Thank goodness Mia gave me a Go Girl the other day. It is chilling in the fridge right now.

OK, not so great service

The tow truck guy came yesterday and he COULDN'T tow the car. He couldn't get it started and the steering wheel is locked. So no luck. So Curt called the 24-hour service back. He pretty much demanded they come out and look at the car today--which was yesterday. He was very stern--I was proud! Anyway, so they said they would try. Phone calls and phone calls later and nothing. They told us we would have to call our service people in the morning.
So that is what I did. At 7:05 a.m. I called the Volvo service station. I explained the situation. The guy told me I had to get the car to the dealership for it to be worked on. I re-explained that I already tried to do that and couldn't. The guy, we'll call him Joe, said I needed to call the service back and have them send someone else out. I told Joe that my husband was on the phone all day with the 24-hour service people and eventually they told us to call our Volvo service in the morning. So Joe told me he would talk to his supervisor when they got in in a couple of hours and see if they can send a tech out. I sure hope so. We have had good luck with our car and Volvo service so far. I want to keep it that way.
So I took BART to work this morning. Well, part of the way. From the BART station I planned to take a cab or the free shuttle service called Emery Go Round. The shuttle was there right away so I just took that. And it was Watergate Express. So it didn't make any stops until the area I work in called Watergate Towers. I was very impressed--but hopefully I won't have to take it too much more this week.

Pedicure Party

Friday night I hosted a Pedicure Party at Tootsies shoe store in Rockridge. It was a hit! Nine girls were able to get pedicures. And my friend Ronda gave chair massages.
Most people arrived between 6:30 and 7 p.m. We got our potluck table together. Man, there was a ton of food. We had water and wine to drink--perfect for a party for someone who just turned the age of Christ, eh?
There were pedicures, chair massages, talking, gossiping, laughing, eating, drinking and best of all: shoe shopping. We had the store to ourselves from 7-10 p.m. We had a party hostess. I was so glad to see everyone hanging out and enjoying each other--esp. for the ones who had just met each other that night.
At my count at least 9 pairs of shoes and 1 pair of sunglasses were purchased that night.
I had some help toting some stuff home. Thanks to my friends who helped me get stuff home and to Alex and Lisa for helping me get stuff to the store.
Afterward some of us headed to George and Walt's for drinks. I can't believe I stayed out as late as I did. At 1 a.m. Alicia, Bridgette and I were walking back to my place when we saw this car driving really close to some parked cars. The car didn't have its lights on. And then it hit at least one parked car. The car turned down a street and we heard a crash and an alarm go off. Soon after that the car came back down college driving on its rims. So we called the police to report it. And we headed back to my place. I ended up not going to be until some time after 2 and I was awake around 7:30. All day Saturday I was exhausted. I took many naps. Thank goodness I didn't have anything planned. Well, I was planning to go to the gym--nixed that idea. Curt asked me if I would shuttle him and Cyrus to and from the Cal football game Saturday. Sure thing. The three of us get in the car and it won't start! Luckily there were buses going right to the game. So the guys just took the bus.
Curt called the 24-hour Volvo service today and they are coming to get the car today and will deliver it to the service/dealership when it opens tomorrow morning. Now that is service. Good thing most of my errands were nearby today--so I just walked. The only errand I couldn't run was Michaels--a little too far for me to walk. I will just stop there sometime after work this week.
And hopefully I won't be without a car too long. If it is gonna be more than a day or two I will likely get a rental. Luckily work is close so I can BART it or cab it.
Oh, the tow truck is here!

Click here for Pedi Party pics.

Now that's talent

Bummer

I came out of the gym last night after kickboxing and it was already dark at 7 p.m.

The D-Backs lost Game 1 to the Rockies. I would love to see the D-Backs go back to the World Series. But if the Rockies go I would totally root for them. I love rooting for the underdog.

I woke up this morning and it was dark and sprinkling.

I walked out of yoga this morning and it was pouring. (Rainy season is early this year.)

But on the brightside, I am hosting a birthday pedicure party with some girlfriends tonight at a shoe store called Tootsies. Some girls are getting pedicures and some are getting chair massages from my friend Ronda. We will eat and drink and laugh and gossip and buy shoes! It should be a blast.

Also, Al Gore received the Nobel Peace Prize. Very cool. Go Al Gore, go!

My mom's house is going to be famous

A film crew is coming to my mom's house tomorrow to start filming for the movie "Fable." They think the house looks like a cottage. I agree. My mom says that supposedly the witch in the movie will be living at the "cottage."
I think it is a Hansel/Gretel type movie. It will be an indie movie. And they are only using the outside of the house.
But it is still pretty cool, eh?

What are you gonna be for Halloween?

Oliver, my suggestion for you is this:

Curt found this. Not sure what he was looking for that he came upon this link.

Rainy season?

Last night it rained. The rainy season usually doesn't start here until November. So maybe it is a fluke. It seems to be clearing up today. Good thing I watered the garden yesterday! Speaking of the garden, when I walked out to the car this morning a chunk of a tree was in the garden. Luckily it fell where nothing is growing at the moment.

Thank You

Thank you to everyone for the birthday e-mails, text messages, blog comments, gifts, cards, etc. I had a wonderful day yesterday. And I got some cool gifts. Besides the lovely flowers Curt sent to work he also got me Smartwool socks. Love those things. And a watch/heartrate monior. I really wanted one. The one he got me is pretty cool. Gotta get it all figured out. But the initial part is set, thanks to Curt. It is a Timex and is really nice. Those crazy people who do Ironman use this thing. And he got me one for small wrists. Woo-hoo!
I also got some gift cards, sushi dinner, money, cool coffee thermos, yoga classes, spa gift card. And I have a package here waiting at work from my mom and Fred. Some people were thrown off since Monday was a holiday and there was no mail.
Thank-you cards will be coming.

Go Ann! It's Your Birthday!

I always think I am going to feel different on my birthday and I don't. Remember being a kid and getting super excited for your special day? I always hope to have that same feeling and I don't. Now I never have been bothered by getting older. And having another birthday is much better than the alernative, right? Today I turn 33--the age of Christ. I get a kick out of that.
My amazing mother was in labor with me for 36 hours. I am not sure if that was all hard labor. All I know is that they had to knock her out because she was so exhausted. Nowadays they would just do a c-section. I was coming out face first. And they had to use those lovely forceps. I had red marks on my face from those things. But they went away quickly. On the back of my neck high in my hair line I still have a red mark from those damn things. Can you believe that? It is only noticeable when I get my hair cut short.
Anyway, I am off today. Gonna do some shopping, hit my regular yoga class and get a massage. I am going to open a few gifts this morning.
Have a good day!

Birthday Flowers

My wonderful husband sent me flowers today for my birthday. Yes, a day early, because I won't be at work tomorrow. For some reason my camera phone is not sending the pic I took to my e-mail. My bouquet pretty much looks like the one I found online. But my sunflowers are yellow with really pretty streaks of brown in them.



Thanks Curt!

It's My Birthday ...

Not Really. Party Anyway. (Song written by Jackson Poff, 4.)
Actually, it is the eve of my birthday. Tomorrow is the big 33.
I have lots of friends and family members who have October birthdays. (Libra power!)

Oct. 1 Co-worker and friend Alex
Oct. 3 Friend Monica
Oct. 4 Co-worker and friend Tony
Oct. 9 ME ME ME!!!
Oct. 10 Co-worker Julie
Oct. 12 Friend Shelly
Oct. 14 Friend Jen
Oct. 16 Friend Gail
Oct. 17 Nephew Jackson; this was also my grandpa's birthday
Oct. 21 Cousin Alison; new friend Bernadette
Oct. 28 Co-worker and friend Toni; Little friend Sasha (Not Libras, but I still like them. :) )

Also, Oct. 10 is my 2-year anniversary at Onyx. (I started as a temp in April 2005. But I became permanent in Oct. 2005.) And mine and Curt's wedding anniversary is also in October--the 25th.

If I forgot anyone in the birthday listing please, please, please forgive me. I pride myself on remembering birthdays. But I have to say lately I have been slacking in that department.

Anyway, tomorrow I am taking the day off! I never work on my birthday. I will go shopping in the morning, take my yoga class and then a massage. Curt and I will have sushi at Sushiya for dinner--our birthday tradition.
I decided to start another tradition tomorrow. For the Poff family we pick names for the adults for Christmas gifts. Lately I have taken the drawing over. (And you all know how I like to get my Christmas shopping finished before Thanksgiving--I wonder who I got that idea from??? The woman who was in labor with me for 36 hours. The woman who had to be put out. My poor mama wasn't even awake when I was born!) Anyway, I think I will draw the names tomorrow (with Curt's help, of course.) So you Poffs get ready!

Finally, a wedding post

I know I have been slacking on sharing the pics from Kate and Jason's wedding from Sept. 8. But here they are finally.
Curt says the above picture is THE picture.
Kate sent a link to the professional pictures and they are truly amazing. There are some good ones of Curt and myself near the end of the night. I will have to buy those. Kate also had a photo booth set up. People could pose and take pics of themselves with a button you just stepped on. It was very cool. So far I have not been able to get that link to work. I wonder if I am the only one having problems?

Anyway, Curt and I arrived very late the night before the wedding. We got to the B&B about 1 a.m.
Next morning I went down for breakfast. I made friends with Kate's Aunt Connie right away. She is a very sweet woman. At some point we headed over to the Inn Kate was staying at. Hung out for a bit. Helped Kate with a few things.
Then Curt, our new (adopted) friend Kathi and I went to lunch. Afterward we went back to see Kate and helped her put the finishing touches on the huppa, which was also referred to as the hookah that weekend. Kate ran off to her hair appt. and the three of us hung out. We eventually went back to our Inn. Hung out for a bit--got some CDs ready for Kate. And then we all started to get ready for the wedding.
Kate asked me to hand out these pretty paper flowers she made for the wedding to all of the guests to wear. So I had those and we had the iPod setup for the music, which Curt was in charge of. We got to the spot where the wedding was supposed to be and people were there for someone else's wedding. We were wondering if we were in the wrong spot. Then some other Kate and Jason wedding people showed up. We thought we had a crisis that two weddings were gonna happen at the same time in the same place. But it actually worked itself out. And since Kate was running late that made it even better. :)
So all of the attendants walk down the sand. Then Kate's dad is ready to go, literally. Curt had to hold him back to wait for Kate. So Ted yells out, Where's Kate? It was classic. Right after that it was like she floated up to him. She looked so beautiful and radiant.
Kate and Jason each asked a married friend to speak at the wedding. I was honored and flattered that Kate asked me. I decided I didn't want to read anything, but write from the heart. I hadn't shared my words with anyone. So I was a little nervous. (I still have to get that to you Kate!) But it went off well and even at the reception people came up to me and commented on how nice it was what I said. That made me feel good.
The ceremony was beautiful. Everything went off perfectly--even if a few things had to be adjusted. Though no one knew and it was all fine.
The reception was a blast. Great food and drinks. And the band was so amazing. They were great.
Curt and I were seated at Table 7. No biggie. Hey, we have a seat. Then we find out we are sitting at THE table with people who were a part of the wedding along with the bride and groom. I was honored to be at the table with them. I was also honored that Kate could trust me and count on me for some important stuff--like her vows getting to the officiant, along with a few other things that I was happy to help her with. Curt was in charge of the music and did a great job.
Curt and I were literally the last guests to leave. Yes, we just had to walk up a few stairs to our room. But just remember, Kate and Jason, who the true party animals are.
Next day there was a nice brunch for anyone who was still around. Chris, photographer, set up a quickie slide show for us to view. It was great to be able to see some of the pics right away.
After that we all helped with taking the decorations down. Then most people started to scatter. Jason really wanted to watch football. The wives were fine with that. So Jason and Curt took Chris to the train station and then to a bar to watch football. Kate and I hung out with the Retuerman clan. We all had lunch and Kate and the kids rode the carousel. After that back to the beach. Then most of the gang headed out. Kate and I spent a few hours on the beach relaxing and talking. I felt very lucky to be hanging out with her the day after the wedding.
After hanging out at the beach Kate and I got cleaned up. Then we met the boys for dinner. We went to this great pasta place. The food was really good!
After that the four of us headed to the second largest casino is the world. (I think that is right.) We headed to a bar to watch, yes, you guessed it, football. Jason's Cowboys were playing. We hung out, had a drink and then Kate and I went to wander. We ended up at a shoe store that Jason's best man was the manager of. There were so many pretty shoes. I found a pair I really wanted, but they didn't have my size. I was so sad. And the best man was going to give me his discount, too!
After that we went back to our inns for bed. I was so tired. In the morning Curt took Jason to his rental car place to drop it off, then they picked up Kate who had left her car at a friend's. Quick stop at Dunkin Donuts. (Those places of everywhere in that area.) Then Curt and I took Kate and Jason to their shuttle. Boys in the front, girls in the back. Kate even made a comment about how we were like old married couples already.
After we dropped them off we headed to Yale University in New Haven to walk around and have breakfast. Then off to the aiport we went.
Great wedding guys! We were so happy and lucky to be a part of your big day!
Hey, tomorrow is Kate and Jason's one month anniversary. (For you Republic people, yes, I realize Al would be mad that I used anniversary for a month and not a year reference.)

Last of the tomates

Tomatoes are almost gone. I have a few left to satuee up. This bowl of yummy pasta consists of whole grain pasta, 2 tsp. olive oil, fresh homegrown tomatoes from the Chihak Poff/Poff garden, garlic and herbs (basil, oregano and chives) also from our garden. I skipped breakfast today. I know, bad! So I decided to have a hardy lunch. It will be back to store-bought tomatoes for me again soon. How sad.


Parties

Yesterday Curt bottled homemade beer with his buddies Eric and John. I cleaned the house and watched Weeds. I am watching the second season right now and I am really getting into it.
So we had two parties to attend yesterday. My friend Alex had a bowling party, which was a lot of fun. I haven't been bowling in probably 10 years.
I remember when I was a kid we (as in my brother and me) would go bowling with my grandpa, mom, Uncle Mike and his two nephews. It was so much fun!
After Alex's party (which I forgot to take my camera to. But others had cameras. So hopefully I will get the links) we went to Monica's birthday party at her new place. That was fun. We hung out with friends and met some new people. Monica had a pinata. We all went outside. Monica pretty much killed the thing on her tries. Once we got back inside I started having a coughing attack. So Curt and I left soon after that.
I thought I was getting better. And I am. But it is slow and driving me nuts!

Downward Dog anyone?

So after about a week and half of not being at the gym I went back today. I did yoga this morning. And my friend Alex joined me. It felt really good to stretch and move again.
Tomorrow the plan is to do a cardio machine. I wanted to do the spin class, but I am going to take it slow. Plus I am still a little congested and coughing. But it is definitely a whole lot better.

Changes

So for the past few days at work there has been a buzz going around. The guess was that Bayer was going to buy Onyx out.
Well, that isn't so. I still have a job!
We found out that there were some promotions. And Hollings C. Renton, our CEO, is retiring. He started this company 15 years ago. He will still stay on as chairman of the board. I am happy for him. But a little sad, too. He is an amazing person and CEO.

Round 2: Secret Pal

We have started the second round of Secret Pal. I had a gift in my mailbox yesterday. My SP gave me Christmas wine glass charms. I love those things.
This time we are only doing the round for one month. I think last time we did it for 9 weeks. That was a long time. I am already coming up with lots of fun ideas.
***UPDATE*** Just went to the mailroom and I had another SP gift in my mailbox. She gave me snowflake cookie cutters. Very cute!
Happy Wednesday!

Got this in an e-mail. Pretty funny!


Updated Employee Handbook

Dress Code It is advised that you come to work dressed according to your salary. If we see you wearing $350 Prada sneakers and carrying a $600 Gucci bag, we assume you are doing well financially and therefore do not need a raise. If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you may buy nicer clothes, and therefore you do not need a raise. If you dress just right, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a raise.

Sick Days We will no longer accept a doctor's statement as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

Personal Days Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturday & Sunday.

Bereavement Leave This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for dead friends, relatives or co-workers. Every effort should be made to have non-employees attend to the arrangements. In rare cases where employee involvement is necessary, the funeral should be scheduled in the late afternoon. We will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch hour and subsequently leave one hour early.

Restroom Use Entirely too much time is being spent in the restroom. There is now a strict three-minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall door will open, and a picture will be taken. After your second offense, your picture will be posted on the company bulletin board under the "Chronic Offenders" category.

Lunch Break Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch as they need to eat more, so that they can look healthy. Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain their average figure. Fat people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that's all the time needed to drink a Slim-Fast.

Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternation, and input should be directed elsewhere.

Have a nice day and get back to work!!

Back to work ...

... and hacking like a crazy person. I just took my second dose of Robitussin right now. Man, I hate that stuff. And I have a Ricola in my mouth and I am drinking water.
Anyway, spent part of the morning with my co-worker Nicole at Costco looking for ideas for raffle prizes for our holiday party. We found some good stuff. So now I have to compile the list for our team meeting on Friday.
Back to work. I can't believe it is already noon!

Home sick, again

OK, so it wasn't that long ago that I was home sick. Well, that cough and sexy voice that hit me Tuesday or Wednesday of last week is still lingering. And I just woke up. Man, I really needed the sleep.
Just gonna rest today--which is what I did all weekend. I need to go buy Robutussin--however you spell that. I need some medicine for during the day, too. Many, many years ago I took Dayquil and I felt like I was drunk. So I steer clear from that stuff.